Abra Group said on Monday, November 10, that it had reached an agreement in principle for Chilean low-cost carrier SKY Airline (Chile) (H2, Santiago de Chile) to join the group, which already comprises avianca airlines, GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes, Wamos Air, and NG Servicios Aéreos.

SKY’s entry into the holding is pending regulatory approval. Once finalised, Abra will consolidate ownership of the carrier, and the current majority shareholders of SKY, the Paulmann Mast family, will become minority shareholders of Abra.

According to a press release, SKY will maintain its brand, culture, and talent, and Holger Paulmann (the current executive president of SKY) will continue to serve as chairman of its board. Abra had been trying to bring the low-cost airline to its portfolio for months, with chief financial officer, Manuel Irarrazaval, recently telling ch-aviation that there was an opportunity to keep consolidating across South America and that the final decision was in the hands of the Chilean management, but Abra wanted it to happen.

"Bringing SKY into the group will allow us to continue strengthening the region's air market," said Abra Group CEO Adrian Neuhauser.

The holding company maintained an option to convert a loan, originating from pandemic-era financing, that could be converted into 40% of SKY. The financial details of the agreement in principle were not disclosed.

ch-aviation data shows SKY and subsidiary SKY Airline Perú operate a fleet of thirty-six aircraft: twenty-nine A320-200Ns and seven A321-200NX. It also has an order for ten A321-200NY(XLR)s.

avianca’s fleet, across its South and Central American subsidiaries, comprises eight A319-100s, seventy-nine A320-200s, forty-eight A320-200Ns, two A330-300s (wet-leased from Wamos), sixteen B787-8s, one A330-200(P2F), six A330-200Fs, and two A330-300(P2F)s. GOL runs a fleet of twelve B737-700s, fifty-eight B737-8s, sixty-two B737-800s, and nine B737-800(BCF)s. Wamos, an specialised ACMI provider, has five A330-200s and eight A330-300s. Finally, start-up NG Servicios Aéreos has one B737-800 used for certification purposes.

Across the board, Abra Group has orders for 150 Airbus A320neo aircraft, five A350-900s, twenty-five B737-10s, and fifty B737-8s. It has also reached agreements to dry-lease up to seven A330-900Ns. The Airbus narrowbodies will go to avianca, the Boeing narrowbodies to GOL. The widebodies have not yet been allocated within the group.